Science centers are great in principle. Unlike traditional science museums, they offer visitors the opportunity to learn by interacting with displays instead of merely viewing them. In my experience, however, they often fail to live up to expectations. The most interesting exhibits invariably have a ten-person queue, while the others are either plastered in 'out of order' signs or occupied by button-mashing six-year-olds who are less interested in learning than watching the flashing lights.
Of all the science centers I have visited - and I have visited a fair few - the ARS Electronic Center in Linz, where I went yesterday, ranks among the best. It is truly a museum of the future, not quite like any I have seen in the past. My first stop was the "Out of Control" exhibit, where the question is asked: how much does the Internet know about you? (The answer: a whole lot more than you realise.) Next was the GeoPulse exhibit, where fancy visualisation systems allow you to explore both present and future cities around the world. And I do mean fancy - I almost felt compelled to pull out my phone and check whether it was still only 2014 , because I had the sneaking suspicion that I might have jumped forwards a few decades.
A large section of the center is devoted to exploration of the human body. I usually approach such exhibits with tempered anticipation, especially the bits about perception and the brain. As much as I love such things, too often I find myself disappointed because none of it is new to me. Yes, I realise that one cannot expect to learn much from an all-ages museum exhibit after completing a PhD on the topic. That's why I was so pleasantly surprised at the level of information conveyed at the ARS Electronica. I actually learned things! And - this is truly awesome - I had a high-quality photo taken of my retina.
Of all the science centers I have visited - and I have visited a fair few - the ARS Electronic Center in Linz, where I went yesterday, ranks among the best. It is truly a museum of the future, not quite like any I have seen in the past. My first stop was the "Out of Control" exhibit, where the question is asked: how much does the Internet know about you? (The answer: a whole lot more than you realise.) Next was the GeoPulse exhibit, where fancy visualisation systems allow you to explore both present and future cities around the world. And I do mean fancy - I almost felt compelled to pull out my phone and check whether it was still only 2014 , because I had the sneaking suspicion that I might have jumped forwards a few decades.
A large section of the center is devoted to exploration of the human body. I usually approach such exhibits with tempered anticipation, especially the bits about perception and the brain. As much as I love such things, too often I find myself disappointed because none of it is new to me. Yes, I realise that one cannot expect to learn much from an all-ages museum exhibit after completing a PhD on the topic. That's why I was so pleasantly surprised at the level of information conveyed at the ARS Electronica. I actually learned things! And - this is truly awesome - I had a high-quality photo taken of my retina.
Other highlights include the RoboLab, where you can pet a furry robotic seal that responds to your touch and trigger a plant on wheels to move by touching its leaves. There is also a floor dedicated to the Genesis genetics project, where you can get a print-out of your name - or any seven-letter word of your choosing - coded as a DNA sequence. (Apparently researchers are working on systems for storing large amounts of information as DNA codes.)
The pride and joy of the center seems to be the Deep Space theater, which displays 3D images at extremely high resolution on a 16 x 9 meter wall (plus the floor). They do all sorts of presentations on astronomy, extreme sports, art, various locations of interest around the world, etc. The show I went to was pretty amazing for the first three minutes. After that I'm not sure. I had to close my eyes because ohmygod the motion-sickness.
The other thing unique to the center are the InfotrainerInnen. A handful of guides are stationed in each section and will cheerfully offer assistance with the exhibits and answer your questions. My guy must have been eager to practice his English or something, because I basically got a personal tour of half the floor and a discussion on the philosophy of science.
The pride and joy of the center seems to be the Deep Space theater, which displays 3D images at extremely high resolution on a 16 x 9 meter wall (plus the floor). They do all sorts of presentations on astronomy, extreme sports, art, various locations of interest around the world, etc. The show I went to was pretty amazing for the first three minutes. After that I'm not sure. I had to close my eyes because ohmygod the motion-sickness.
The other thing unique to the center are the InfotrainerInnen. A handful of guides are stationed in each section and will cheerfully offer assistance with the exhibits and answer your questions. My guy must have been eager to practice his English or something, because I basically got a personal tour of half the floor and a discussion on the philosophy of science.
There is far more to Linz than this one museum. Churches, for instance. Bruckner. Kepler. Linzertorte. Linzerschnitte. Also Linzer cookies. But that's enough for one post.